Molt

Molt, also spelled Moult, biological process of molting (moulting)—i.e., the shedding or casting off of an outer layer or covering and the formation of its replacement. Molting, which is regulated by hormones, occurs throughout the animal kingdom. It includes the shedding and replacement of horns, hair, skin, and feathers.

The process of shedding an external skeleton for the purpose of growth or change in shape (seemetamorphosis) is called ecdysis; it occurs in such invertebrates as arthropods, nematodes, and tardigrades.

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in biology, striking change of form or structure in an individual after hatching or birth. Hormones called molting and juvenile hormones, which are not species specific, apparently regulate the changes. These physical changes as well as those involving growth and differentiation are accompanied by...

The contour feathers are shed and replaced (molted) at least once a year, usually just after the breeding season. In addition, many birds have at least a partial molt before the breeding season. A typical series of molts and plumages would be juvenal plumage, postjuvenal (also called first prebasic) molt, first winter (or first basic) plumage, first prenuptial (or pre-alternate) molt, first...

The appearance of many higher vertebrates changes with the onset of reproductive activity. The so-called prenuptial molt in many male birds results in the attainment of the nuptial plumage, which often differs radically from that possessed by the bird at other times of the year or from that possessed by a nonreproductive individual. The hindquarters of female baboons become bright red in...